


Mandatory Cabinet Retreat

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [32]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Camping, Fishing, Gen, Team Building, retreats, team work, trust building, unity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-25 00:22:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10752831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: Team work makes the dream work!Or at least that's what George Washington is hoping for, after a bumpy start to his term he's decided there is only one way to resolve the rift in his cabinet.





	Mandatory Cabinet Retreat

The cabinet meeting was over, people were packing up their various notes and papers when the president cleared his throat pointedly. 

"It has come to my attention," George began, "that some of my cabinet members aren't quite...getting along."

Alex snorted under his breath, glancing at Jefferson. That was an understatement if he ever heard one.

"And frankly I don't want to want these behaviors getting worse," George continued.

"Sir," Alex sighed.

"No arguments, Alexander," George interrupted, "None from you either, Thomas."

Jefferson, who had opened his mouth to respond, closed it again and crossed his arms in a fair approximation of a pouting teenager. 

"That being said, I've planned a cabinet retreat at a campsite in the Appalachian Mountains," said George, "and yes it is mandatory. I've hired an expert on office inter-personal communications to lead us in a few seminars."

"Sir!" Alex exclaimed.

"Oh and Eliza agrees with my plan," George added, "you're not getting out of this."

McHenry made a whipping noise. Alex turned to glare at the Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

"Shut up Jane," he grumbled. 

She just grinned back.

Alex slumped into his seat, he'd much rather spend the weekend with his family than Thomas Jefferson. He hadn't gotten much of a chance to do this since they'd only recently arrived in DC after the kids finished up the school year.

There was no arguing with George once he had set his mind to something, Alex had learned that back in his undergrad years the hard way. But this? This was going to suck. Not only did he have to spend the weekend with Jefferson, he had to do it while camping.

Now he'd not really ever gone camping as a child on St. Croix, this dislike stemmed from the few times he'd gone with Eliza's family. Not to mention, the apprehension of storms that still lingered from his experience with the hurricane was enough to put Alex off nature for good. Needless to say he was in quite a mood for the rest of the day.

He managed to pull himself more or less out of his funk by the evening. Philip and Angie were away at summer camp this month and when he wasn't being overshadowed by his older siblings Junior was much more perceptive than he seemed and he would pick up on any foul mood.

He also knew that Eliza would not stand for his brooding behavior, so inhaling deeply he pushed open the door to find himself greeted by the pleasant smell of dinner, and their youngest son Jack skidding in from the living room.

"Daddy!" Jack threw his arms around his father's legs.

Jack was the most active three year old Alex had ever seen. He ran everywhere and was always excited about everything. 

"Hey there, Jacky," Alex greeted with a laugh, "How was your day?"

Jack was enjoying having a lot of mommy time while Junior and Jamie were at a robotics camp and space camp, respectively, at the science museum during the day. 

"Me and mommy made Play Doh!" the little boy exclaimed.

"Really?" Alex lifted Jack into his arms noting the blue coloring on his son's hands, "Looks like you made mommy's favorite color."

"Mhmm..." Jack bobbed his head.

He walked into the kitchen where Eliza was taking out some fresh vegetables to make a salad. 

"Why don't you go find your brothers," Alex suggested, kissing Jack's forehead, "so I can have some mommy time too."

"M'kay!" Jack agreed, rushing off as soon as Alex put him down. 

He took over on salad making while Eliza moved to check on whatever was in the oven. 

"You found out about the cabinet retreat," Eliza said. It wasn't a question.

"Yes I did," Alex crinkled his brow, he then blinked, "wait, how did you know that?"

"Your face says it all," Eliza replied.

Alex sighed, "You always could read me so well."

"It's part of my charm," Eliza told him.

Alex leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "Do I really have to go?" he pouted resting his head on her shoulder.

"Please watch your hands when you're cutting vegetables," Eliza told him, shifting her shoulder so that he'd lift his head and refocus on his task, "and yes you do."

"Betsey..." Alex whined as he sliced the carrots into thin sticks.

"It's not exactly my choice, Alex," Eliza said firmly, "This is a work function and it's mandatory. Did you really think I was going to refuse when George called me about it?"

Alex let out a dramatic sigh, he knew she was right, Eliza was always right. "I'll go, but I won't enjoy it."

\----------

"You have got to be kidding me," Alex glared at the list with all the rooming assignments which had him listed as sharing a room with none other than Thomas Jefferson. He was already dreading his time here and now Alex was certain it was going to be exponentially worse than he originally thought.

"Hold up, I'm rooming with who?"

Alex rolled his eyes at the derisive tone in Jefferson's voice. 

"I'm not thrilled about it either," he grumbled. 

"No switching, Thomas," George said, sounding very much like a scolding father. 

They had all made their way to the place they were staying in the mountains. It seemed to have been a summer camp at one point, if the faded signs directing to Archery and Arts and Crafts Hut were any indication. Alex had seen a summer camp and he could only hope that they'd made the beds better. Especially since he had to share a room with Jefferson.

Upon opening the door to their room in the cabin Alexander groaned, "Bunk beds?!"

"Dibs on the top bunk," Jefferson said, sweeping past Alex and sideswiping him with a gigantic duffle bag. 

"No way!" complained Alex, "I got here first."

"But I called dibs," Jefferson shot back, climbing up the ladder and gracefully settling himself on it.

Alex scowled, he was furious and wanted to tell Jefferson exactly what he thought and-

"How are you two settling in?" George appeared in the doorway.

"Just fine," drawled Jefferson, "Isn't that right, Hamilton."

Alex was now trapped. If he complained about the bed situation, then he would seem like the petulant and childish one. 

"Perfect," Alex grit out.

"Good," George replied before turning on his heel.

Alex tossed his bag and sat on the bed, the springs squeaked and groaned, this was going to be a very long 48 hours.

\----------

It seemed that the key word of the weekend was unity. At least that's what Alex gleaned, considering that the activity leader was saying the word at least every other sentence.

"Unity is always important in any work environment-"

Alex leaned against a nearby tree, he was bored out of his mind, this was not how he liked to work.

"Alex!" Jane jabbed him between his ribs causing him to yelp, his face turned red, "Pay attention."

"I am," Alex hissed back.

"Do you have something to add, Alex?" the activity leader asked. He had insisted that everyone had to go by their first names. Apparently it promoted unity. 

"Oh no, Garett," Alex replied, his voice saccharine sweet, "please do go on. I am so enjoying this session."

If Garett heard the sarcasm in Alex's voice, he didn't let on, simply smiling broadly and continuing his lecture.

Jane shook her head in his direction as Alex took his spot against the tree once more.

Trust exercises, Alex decided, were even worse than all the talk about unity. He could only be grateful that they didn't do trust falls because he was sure that he would have dropped someone. Instead, they did something called mine field in which one person was blindfolded and their partner directed them from one side of the room to the other with only their voice. 

Alex was, to his delight, not paired with Jefferson. He was, however, paired with Charles Lee. Lee wasn't quite the thorn in his side that Jefferson was, but they definitely didn't get along.

"How do I know you won't make me trip?" Lee glared taking the blindfold in hand.

"That's the whole point of this exercise," Alex sighed, "weren't you listening?"

"Like that matters," snorted Lee, "I wouldn't it put it past you to walk me into a wall."

Alex rolled his eyes, "Honestly, Lee. I'm willing to act civil. Are you?"

After a little more hemming and hawing, Lee finally conceded to put on the blindfold and get into position. That was when Alex realized that he was right next to Jefferson and he had an idea.

He carefully guided Lee around a log and bit his lip, Jefferson had been paired up with Vice President Adams. If there was a pair that hated each other more than him and Jefferson it was probably Jefferson and Adams.

Just as Jefferson started to say something, Alex raised his voice. 

"Keep going that way, Lee!"

Jefferson managed to get a word out this time before Alex spoke over him again. 

"You're doing great!"

"Adams-"

"Lee step to the right!" Alex shouted loudly, not hearing Jefferson's directions Adams nearly collided with one of the obstacles.

"Will you stop that," Jefferson hissed. 

"Stop what?" Alex asked innocently, "I'm only giving my partner the proper directions to get across. It's not my fault you can't do the same."

Alex turned away from Jefferson, but kept the seething man in the corner of his eye. When Jefferson tried to direct Adams again, Alex let out three overly loud sneezes. The next time, he suddenly succumbed to a coughing fit. As a result of Alex's preoccupation with annoying Jefferson, he didn't correct Lee when the other man starting veering to the right and collided into Adams, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

"For god sake Hamilton!" George hollered.

Alex's cackling turned into embarrassed throat clearing as a flush spread across the back of his neck. 

"Whoops?" he tried. 

It was obvious that George was Not Having It. He was brought back to particularly embarrassing moment in his undergrad career when George had been his professor, while he couldn't remember exactly what he and John had done to be worthy of his ire Alex would never forget that look.

"I don't want to put the two of you in a time out, but I will if I have to," said George in a pointed manner. 

"Hamilton started it," grumbled Jefferson. 

"You are a grown ass man, Thomas, act like one," snapped George, "Alex, at least pretend that you're mature for once in your life."

"But sir-"

Alex was silenced by George's icy glare, his face turning a stunning shade of scarlet.

\----------

And that was how Alex Hamilton found himself stuck on a boat with Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington completely against his will.

After the disaster that had been trust exercises, George had insisted that Alex and Jefferson needed time to bond. Of course, they couldn't be trusted to do so alone and the lake was fed by a river known to be a good source of trout. So now the three of them were going to go fishing. In a tiny boat. Alex managed to hold in a shudder at the thought of the tiny boat capsizing and sending him into the water. His only consolation was that Jefferson apparently got seasick extremely easily and was currently miserable and puking over the side of the boat. He was almost tempted to shift the boat teasingly, if only it wouldn't trigger his own water-based fears.

George was calmly baiting his hook, "Do I need to remind you that we aren't going to go back ashore until you both catch something?"

Jefferson was distinctly green around the gills at the thought of being on the water for any extended period of time and honestly Alex had to agree.

"I mean it," George added firmly.

"I'm not sure what this is supposed to prove, sir," admitted Alex, carefully following George's movement to bait his own hook. 

"Unity," George intoned seriously. Alex sighed. 

He was beginning to hate that word, he swore once he got home he was going to white it out of the dictionary in his office.

 

Fishing, Alex soon found out, was one of the most boring activities in history. It seemed to consist mostly of sitting around and hoping for something to happen. Alex was never a person who liked to sit still, he always had to be doing something, so fishing was the absolute worst.

George seemed perfectly at peace, relaxed and in his element with his face turned to sun. Jefferson still looked a little sickly and completely bored because--and Alex would never admit this if his life depended on it--the two of them were actually quite similar in temperament.

He sat there with shoulders slumped as he cast his line muttering to himself as he adjusted his position feeling the sun beat down on him. The water glinted in the sunlight nearly blinding him as he watched the line bob up and down.

Alex had almost settled into the calm quiet of the moment when he felt a sharp tug on his line. 

"Woah!" he exclaimed as the line jerked again, the small red and white floater bobbing below the the surface. 

"Reel in," George told him.

"Carefully," added Jefferson when Alex started to reel quickly, "if you go too fast the hook could slip out."

Alex didn't even question the advice, reeling in slowly and tugging up on the rod occasionally as Jefferson directed. George simply watched them with a small smile as they worked together to bring in the fish. 

"Net, net!" commanded Alex when the fish started breaking he surface. 

Jefferson grabbed the net and carefully slipped it into the water and scooped up the fish to bring it into the boat. 

"Yes!"

Alex held out his hand for a high five and Jefferson complied, both of them grinning. 

George took over putting the fish into the bucket, "Well done you two. I think we've accomplished what we set out to do."

"Really?" Alex asked, surprised. 

George simply smiled again, "You worked together, didn't you?"

 

Jefferson shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess we did," Alex sighed.

 

George rowed them back to shore and sent the two of them on their way. They still had an hour or so before the next group activity, so Alex and Jefferson slowly trudged to their shared room. 

"This doesn't mean we're friends," Jefferson said decisively when they reached the door. 

Alex snorted, "You don't have to tell me."

 

\----------

That night they all shuffled towards the dining hall for dinner. Alex had to admit, the sense of camaraderie between the members of the group was actually improved. He saw people talking who he was sure had barely spoken civilly to each other--yes, he and Jefferson weren't the only ones who didn't really get along. Even Adams, (who Alex had thought a bit of a bore) had opened up quite a bit.

As they were sitting down for dinner, Alex noticed that everyone else had some kind of chicken dish, but he and Jefferson had fish. 

"What the..."

 

"Eat up boys," George chuckled.

 

"Is this...is this the fish we caught?" Jefferson asked, poking at it with his fork. 

"It's your unity fish," George intoned seriously, although his eyes were shining with amusement. 

 

Alex began to laugh and he couldn't stop, it's not that he found it funny... He just could not stop.

 

"What is wrong with you?" Jefferson questioned, but he was also fighting a smile.

"I-I don't know," Alex gasped wiping tears from his eyes.

"Eat your damn fish," Jefferson said, taking a bite to hide his amused grin. 

\----------

The day came that Alex was home, and he was so happy to walk up the stone path and up the stairs to their front door. The simple thought of knowing Eliza was there made him overwhelmingly happy.

"I'm home!" he called out. 

All three of his youngest sons came to greet him, followed by Eliza. Junior and Jamie were talking over each other, both trying to tell Alex all about their time at camp since he had left before they got home on Thursday. Jack, meanwhile, was chanting "daddy's home" over and over again.

"We're glad to have you back," Eliza smiled giving her husband a hug.

"Dad, you kind of smell," Junior said, matter of fact. 

Alex frowned and sniffed at his collar, "Really?"

"Oh," Eliza took a step back and blinked, "yes you really do."

"Betsey!" Alex's jaw dropped.

She laughed, "That's what happens when you go into the wilderness for a weekend."

"It's not like we didn't have showers," Alex grumbled good naturedly, then sighed, "I suppose I'll go take a shower. Maybe then you'll be able to stand to be in my presence."

"Maybe," Eliza grinned giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Or you could join me?" Alex added in a low whisper as he tried to steal another kiss. 

"Don't press your luck," Eliza shook her head.

"It was a good try," said Alex with a chuckle. 

"Go," Eliza told him, giving his shoulder a gentle shove, "I told the boys that we could go get pizza for dinner."

Alex let out a dramatic groan, "Fine..." he then trod up the stairs to their room smiling the whole way.


End file.
